U.S. patent number 8,134,248 [Application Number 12/274,985] was granted by the patent office on 2012-03-13 for aerogenerator having rotation support unit for facilitating rotation of rotational body.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Dominic Investment, Inc.. Invention is credited to Michael Baker, John Nelson, Chris Wilson.
United States Patent |
8,134,248 |
Wilson , et al. |
March 13, 2012 |
Aerogenerator having rotation support unit for facilitating
rotation of rotational body
Abstract
Disclosed herein is an aerogenerator having a rotation support
unit for facilitating rotation of a rotational body. The
aerogenerator includes a support pillar, a rotational body, vanes,
a rotating force transmission unit, a generating unit and a
rotation support unit. The support pillar has a hollow space
therein and has a support extension on the upper end thereof. The
rotational body is provided on the upper end of the support pillar
so as to be rotatable using the rotation support unit. The vanes
are provided on opposite ends of the rotational body. The rotating
force transmission unit transmits rotating force of the vanes to
the generating unit. In the present invention, the rotation support
unit comprises a rotating plate which is provided between the
rotational body and the support pillar, and first rollers which are
provided in the rotating plate and are in contact with the
rotational body and the support extension. The rotation support
unit further comprises second rollers which are provided under the
rotating plate and are in contact with the inner surface of the
hollow space of the support pillar. Therefore, the rotational body
can easily rotate on the upper end of the support pillar by the
first rollers, and the rotational plate can be prevented from being
separated from the upper end of the support pillar by the second
rollers.
Inventors: |
Wilson; Chris (Portland,
OR), Nelson; John (Portland, OR), Baker; Michael (Gig
Harbor, WA) |
Assignee: |
Dominic Investment, Inc. (Lake
Oswego, OR)
|
Family
ID: |
42130469 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/274,985 |
Filed: |
November 20, 2008 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20100109335 A1 |
May 6, 2010 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Nov 5, 2008 [KR] |
|
|
10-2008-0109355 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
290/55; 416/146R;
415/4.5; 415/4.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F03D
15/00 (20160501); F03D 7/0204 (20130101); F03D
15/20 (20160501); Y02E 10/72 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F03D
9/00 (20060101); F03B 15/06 (20060101); B63H
7/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;290/55,44,54
;415/4.2,4.3,4.4,4.5 ;416/119,17,146R,85 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Dickey; Thomas L
Assistant Examiner: Yushin; Nikolay
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sherr & Vaughn, PLLC
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An aerogenerator, comprising: a support pillar placed upright on
ground, the support pillar having a hollow space therein, with a
support extension extending a predetermined distance from an upper
end of the support pillar inwards such that the hollow space is
open on the upper end of the support pillar through a center of the
support extension; a rotational body, provided on the upper end of
the support pillar, which is rotatable on a rotation support unit
having rollers, the rotational body including vanes provided on
opposite ends of the rotational body, the vanes being rotatable by
wind; and a rotating force transmission unit to transmit a rotating
force of the vanes to a generating unit, wherein the rotation
support unit includes: a rotating plate provided between the
rotational body and the support pillar; first rollers provided at a
perimeter of the rotating plate at positions spaced apart from each
other at regular intervals around the circumference of the rotating
plate, the first rollers in contact with a lower surface of the
rotational body and an upper surface of the support extension of
the support pillar; and second rollers provided under a perimeter
of a lower surface of the rotating plate at positions spaced apart
from each other at regular intervals around the circumference of
the rotating plate, the second rollers in contact with an inner
surface of the hollow space of the support pillar, whereby the
rotational body easily rotates on the upper surface of the support
extension of the support pillar because of the first rollers, and
the rotational plate is prevented from being separated from the
upper end of the support pillar by the second rollers, wherein
roller support shafts are fastened to the lower surface of the
rotating plate and bent towards the inner surface of the support
pillar, and the second rollers are rotatably mounted on ends of the
respective roller support shafts and are in contact with the inner
surface of the support pillar.
2. An aerogenerator, comprising: a support pillar placed upright on
ground, the support pillar having a hollow space therein, with a
support extension extending a predetermined distance from an upper
end of the support pillar inwards such that the hollow space is
open on the upper end of the support pillar through a center of the
support extension; a rotational body, provided on the upper end of
the support pillar, which is rotatable on a rotation support unit
having rollers, the rotational body including vanes provided on
opposite ends of the rotational body, the vanes being rotatable by
wind; and a rotating force transmission unit to transmit a rotating
force of the vanes to a generating unit, wherein the rotation
support unit includes: a rotating plate provided between the
rotational body and the support pillar; first rollers provided at a
perimeter of the rotating plate at positions spaced apart from each
other at regular intervals around the circumference of the rotating
plate, the first rollers in contact with a lower surface of the
rotational body and an upper surface of the support extension of
the support pillar; and second rollers provided under a perimeter
of a lower surface of the rotating plate at positions spaced apart
from each other at regular intervals around the circumference of
the rotating plate, the second rollers in contact with an inner
surface of the hollow space of the support pillar, whereby the
rotational body easily rotates on the upper surface of the support
extension of the support pillar because of the first rollers, and
the rotational plate is prevented from being separated from the
upper end of the support pillar by the second rollers, wherein a
guide protrusion is provided under a lower surface of the support
extension of the support pillar and extends around the
circumference of the support extension, wherein the second rollers
are in contact with one surface of the guide protrusion and move
along the guide protrusion.
3. The aerogenerator as set forth in claim 2, wherein a second
roller guide groove is formed on the surface of the guide
protrusion which is in contact with the second rollers, so that the
second rollers are guided by the second roller guide groove.
Description
The present application claims priority to Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2008-0109355 (filed on Nov. 5, 2008) which is
hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to aerogenerators and, more
particularly, to an aerogenerator in which a rotation support unit
for enabling a rotational body to rotate on an upper end of a
support pillar reduces a contact area between the rotational body
and the support pillar, thus making it possible to more smoothly
rotate the rotational body in the direction in which the wind is
blowing.
2. Description of the Related Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, aerogenerators are one
kind of generators which obtain rotating force in such a way as to
rotate vanes using naturally-occurring wind, convert the rotating
force into electric energy, and supply the produced electricity to
areas where it is needed.
Such an aerogenerator includes a support pillar, rotational bodies
and vanes. The support pillar is placed upright on the ground.
The rotational body is rotatably provided on the upper end of the
support pillar, and the vanes are supported by the rotational body
and provided on respective opposite ends of the upper end of the
support pillar. The vanes generate rotating force using the
wind.
In the aerogenerator having the above-mentioned construction, the
rotational body is rotated depending on the direction of the wind
such that the vanes are easily oriented facing in and away from the
direction in which the wind is blowing, so that the vanes can be
more effectively rotated by the wind.
Recently, aerogenerators have been used which include a pair of
vanes and which are constructed such that a rotational body is
rapidly rotated in the direction in which the wind is blowing so as
to increase rotating force of the vanes.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a conventional aerogenerator.
As shown in the drawing, the conventional aerogenerator 1 includes
a support pillar 10 which is placed upright on the ground, a
rotational body 20 which is rotatably provided on the upper end of
the support pillar 10, and two vanes 30 which are rotatably
provided on the respective opposite ends of the rotational body
20.
Furthermore, a generating unit 40 is provided in the support pillar
10 or on the ground. A rotating force transmission unit 50 which
increases the rotating force of the vanes 30 and transmits it to
the generating unit 40 is provided in the rotational body 20.
The transmission unit 50 is disposed at an upper position in the
central portion of the rotational body 20 and connects rotating
shafts 32 of the vanes 30 to a rotating shaft 42 connected to the
generating unit 40. The transmission unit 50 is protected by a
cover 22.
Furthermore, a rotation support unit 60 is provided between the
rotational body 20 and the support pillar 10. The rotation support
unit 60 includes a rotating plate 62 and a plurality of rollers 64
which are provided on the rotating plate 62 and arranged in a
circumferential direction. Thus, the rotational body 20 is
supported on the upper end of the support pillar 10 so as to be
rotatable using the rotation support unit 60.
Due to the above-mentioned construction, the rotational body 20
having the vanes 30 is easily rotated in the direction in which the
wind blows, so that the rotating force of the vanes 30 can be
increased, thus enhancing the amount of produced electric
energy.
However, in the conventional aerogenerator 1, each of the rollers
64, which rotate in the circumferential direction around the center
of the rotating plate 62, has a frusto-conical shape. Thus, the
contact area of the rollers 64 with the rotational body 20 and the
support pillar 10 is relatively large, with the result that the
friction therebetween is increased.
Due to relatively high friction, not only the circumferential outer
surface of the rollers 64 but also the surfaces of the rotational
body 20 and the support pillar 10 get worn with the passage of
time. As a result, the rotational body 20 cannot smoothly rotate on
the support pillar 10. Thereby, the rotational body 20 cannot
rapidly rotate in the direction in which the wind is blowing, thus
reducing the efficiency of producing electric energy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind
the above problems occurring in the related art, and an object of
the present invention is to provide an aerogenerator having a
rotation support unit which includes first rollers provided between
a rotational body and a support pillar so as to be rotatable in the
circumferential direction, the first rollers having a reduced
contact area with rotational body and the support pillar, thus
reducing the friction therebetween, thereby making it possible to
more smoothly rotate the rotational body with respect to the
support pillar.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an
aerogenerator having the rotation support unit which includes
second rollers provided under a rotating plate so as to be
rotatable along an inner surface of a hollow space of the support
pillar, thus preventing the rotating plate from undesirably
separating from the upper end of the support pillar.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an
aerogenerator having the rotation support unit in which roller
guide grooves are formed in the surfaces of the rotational body and
the support pillar which are in contact with the first and second
rollers, so that the rotation of the first and second rollers can
be reliably guided by the roller guide grooves, thus preventing the
first and second rollers from being undesirably displaced from the
normal rotating orbits thereof.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention
provides an aerogenerator, including: a support pillar placed
upright on a ground, the support pillar having a hollow space
therein, with a support extension extending a predetermined
distance from an upper end of the support pillar inwards such that
the hollow space is open on the upper end of the support pillar
through a center of the support extension; a rotational body
provided on the upper end of the support pillar so as to be
rotatable using a rotation support unit having rollers, with vanes
provided on respective opposite ends of the rotational body, the
vanes being rotated by wind; and a rotating force transmission unit
to transmit a rotating force of the vanes to a generating unit, the
rotation support unit comprising: a rotating plate provided between
the rotational body and the support pillar; first rollers provided
in a perimeter of the rotating plate at positions spaced apart from
each other at regular intervals in a circumferential direction of
the rotating plate, the first rollers in contact with a lower
surface of the rotational body and an upper surface of the support
extension of the support pillar; and second rollers provided under
a perimeter of a lower surface of the rotating plate at positions
spaced apart from each other at regular intervals in the
circumferential direction of the rotating plate, the second rollers
in contact with an inner surface of the hollow space of the support
pillar, whereby the rotational body easily rotates on the upper
surface of the support extension of the support pillar because of
the first rollers, and the rotational plate is prevented from being
separated from the upper end of the support pillar by the second
rollers.
Preferably, a first roller guide groove may be formed in each of
the upper surface of the support extension of the support pillar
and the lower surface of the rotational body that are in contact
with the first rollers, so that the first rollers are guided by the
first roller guide groove.
Furthermore, a second roller guide groove may be formed in the
inner surface of the hollow space of the support pillar which is in
contact with the second rollers, so that the second rollers are
guided by the second roller guide groove.
In addition, roller support shafts may be fastened to the lower
surface of the rotating plate and bent towards the inner surface of
the support pillar, and the second rollers may be rotatably
provided on ends of the respective roller support shafts and be in
contact with the inner surface of the support pillar.
As well, a guide protrusion may be provided under a lower surface
of the support extension of the support pillar and extend in a
circumferential direction of the support extension, wherein the
second rollers are in contact with one surface of the guide
protrusion and move along the guide protrusion.
Moreover, a second roller guide groove may be formed on the surface
of the guide protrusion which is in contact with the second
rollers, so that the second rollers are guided by the second roller
guide groove.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will be more clearly understood from the following
detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a conventional aerogenerator;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an aerogenerator having a rotation
support unit for facilitating rotation of a rotational body,
according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an embodiment of the rotation support
unit of the aerogenerator according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a view illustrating another embodiment of the rotation
support unit of the aerogenerator according to the present
invention; and
FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a further embodiment of the rotation
support unit of the aerogenerator according to the present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention do not limit the
bounds of the present invention but are presented only for
illustrative purposes, and various modifications, additions and
substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating an aerogenerator 100 having
a rotation support unit 160 for facilitating rotation of a
rotational body, according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a
view illustrating an embodiment of the rotation support unit 160 of
the aerogenerator 100 according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is
a view illustrating another embodiment of the rotation support unit
160 of the aerogenerator 100 according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a further embodiment of the rotation
support unit 160 of the aerogenerator 100 according to the present
invention.
As shown in the drawings, the aerogenerator 100 according to the
present invention includes a support pillar 110, a rotational body
120, vanes 130, a generating unit 140, a rotating force
transmission unit 150 and the rotation support unit 160.
The support pillar 110 is placed upright on the ground. The support
pillar 110 has therein a hollow space which is open on the upper
end thereof. A support extension 112 extends from the upper end of
the support pillar 110 towards the central axis thereof. The
rotational body 120 is rotatable on the upper surface of the
support extension 112 around the central axis of the support pillar
110.
The rotational body 120 supports the vanes 130 on respective
opposite ends thereof. The rotating force transmission unit 150 is
provided in the rotational body 120 to transmit rotating force of
the vanes 130 to the generating unit 140.
The rotation support unit 160 is provided between the support
pillar 110 and the rotational body 120 to allow the rotational body
120 to rotate easily depending on the direction of the wind.
That is, the rotation support unit 160 rapidly rotates the
rotational body 120 such that the vanes 130 orient themselves in
the direction in which the wind is blowing, thus increasing the
rotating force of the vanes 130.
Here, the vanes 130 include a main vane 132 and a subsidiary vane
134. The main vane 132 is larger than the subsidiary vane 134.
The generating unit 140 is installed in the support pillar 110 or
provided on the ground to convert a rotating force transmitted from
the vanes 130 into electrical energy. The rotating force
transmission unit 150 functions to transmit rotating force of the
vanes 130 to the generating unit 140.
The rotating force transmission unit 150 is provided in the
rotational body 120 and connects rotating shafts 133 and 135 of the
main and subsidiary vanes 132 and 134 to a rotating shaft 142 of
the generating unit 140 such that the rotating force of the vanes
130 is perpendicularly transmitted to the generating unit 140.
As shown in FIG. 2, the rotation support unit 160 includes a
rotating plate 162, first rollers 164 and second rollers 166. The
rotating plate 162 is provided between the rotational body 120 and
the support pillar 110.
The first rollers 164 are provided in the perimeter of the rotating
plate 162 at positions spaced apart from each other at regular
intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotating plate
162. The first rollers 164 are in contact with the lower surface of
the rotational body 120 and the upper surface of the support
extension 112 of the support pillar 110.
Thanks to the first rollers 164, the rotational body 120 can easily
rotate on the upper surface of the support extension 112 of the
support pillar 110. Compared to the conventional rollers having
frusto-conical shapes, here the contact area is greatly reduced, so
that the rotational body 120 can more smoothly rotate because of
the reduction in friction.
Furthermore, the second rollers 166 are provided under the
perimeter of the lower surface of the rotating plate 162 at
positions spaced apart from each other at regular intervals in the
circumferential direction of the rotating plate 162. The second
rollers 166 are in contact with the inner surface of the hollow
space of the support pillar 110. Thus, the rotating plate 162 can
be prevented from being undesirably removed from the upper end of
the support pillar 110.
Here, first roller guide grooves 114 and 124 are respectively
formed in the upper surface of the support extension 112 of the
support pillar 110 and the lower surface of the rotational body
120, that is, in the contact surfaces of the support extension 112
of the support pillar 110 and the rotational body 120 which are in
contact with the first rollers 164. The first roller guide grooves
114 and 124 guide the rotation of the first rollers 164, so that
the rotational body 120 can more smoothly rotate and the first
rollers 164 can be prevented from being displaced from their normal
rotating orbit.
In addition, a second roller guide groove 116 which guides the
rotation of the second rollers 166 is formed in the inner surface
of the hollow space of the support pillar 110 which is in contact
with the second rollers 116.
The second roller guide groove 116 has the same role as that of the
first roller guide grooves 114 and 124, that is, it functions to
prevent the second rollers 166 from being displaced from the normal
rotating orbit. As well, the second roller guide groove 116 also
functions to prevent the rotating plate 162 from being undesirably
separated from the upper end of the support pillar 110.
Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 4, a guide protrusion 117 may be
further provided under the lower surface of the support extension
112 of the support pillar 110 and extend in the circumferential
direction of the support extension 112. In this case, second
rollers 116 are in contact with the surface of the guide protrusion
117 and move along the guide protrusion 117.
Due to the guide protrusion 117, the diameter of the second roller
166 is prevented from being excessively larger than that of the
first roller 164, so that a load applied to the rotating plate 162
by the second rollers 166 can be reduced and, thus, the rotating
plate 162 can more effectively rotate.
Here, a first roller guide groove 114 is formed in the upper
surface of the support extension 112 which is in contact with the
first rollers 164. A second roller guide groove 116 is formed in a
portion of the guide protrusion 117 which is in contact with the
second rollers 166, so that the rotation of the second rollers 166
is guided by the second roller guide groove 116.
Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 5, the rotation support unit 160 may be
constructed such that roller support shafts 168 are fastened to the
lower surface of the rotating plate 162 and bent towards the inner
surface of the support pillar 110 and second rollers 166 are
rotatably provided on the ends of the respective roller support
shafts 168 and are in contact with the inner surface of the support
pillar 110. In this case, the diameter of the second roller 166 can
also be prevented from being excessively larger than that of the
first roller 164.
Here, preferably, each roller support shaft 168 is bent at an
obtuse angle to prevent the roller support shaft 168 from being
damaged by the centrifugal force generated when the rotational body
120 rotates.
As described above, in an aerogenerator having a rotation support
unit for facilitating rotation of a rotational body according to
the present invention, a contact area between the rotation support
unit and the rotational body or a support pillar is reduced, thus
reducing friction therebetween. Thereby, the rotation of the
rotational body on the upper end of the support pillar can become
smoother, so that the rotational body can rapidly rotate such that
the vanes are oriented in the direction in which the wind is
blowing. As a result, the rotating force of the vanes is increased
and, thus, more electric energy is produced.
* * * * *